Shehri's Success Stories
A small sampling of our efforts in the public interest includes: As a result of advocacy and public interest litigation demolition of Glass Towers illegal encroachment took place on the notified road-widening of Clifton Road. This action saved the road from being constricted. As a result of advocacy and and public interest litigation saving of 480-acre Gutter Baghicha Park on Manghopir Road. This is the largest open recreational space in a low income congested area of...

FOI - Freedom of Information Ordinance� as a tool for ensuring Good Governance.

The right of access to information is not just a fundamental right of every citizen but also a vital instrument for sustaining a civilized and democratic society. It enables citizens to know the true facts and thus objectively evaluate or monitor the performance of their government. The right to information is critical to the process of strengthening good governance, accountability and transparency.

Understanding the concept: Any citizen has the right to access information and record held by public bodies, subject to some restrictions. FOI refers to a situation in which citizens can easily seek and receive information from the government departments and public bodies.

In 1946, during the first session, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 59 (1), which stated: Freedom of Information is a fundamental human right, the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the UN is consecrator. This was followed by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948.

National Project for Participatory Citizens-Police Interaction and training for improved policing of Human Rights violations and advocating police reforms”

Police Reforms in Pakistan: According to Transparency International Pakistan National Corruption Perception Survey of 2006, respondents ranked the police as the most corrupt institution in Pakistan by a wide margin. In addition, two nation-wide opinion polls conducted by the International Republican Institute in 2006 showed that the public viewed the police least favorably among national institutions such as the army, government, NGOs and the media.

One possible reason for this could be that the police have not received the level of government priority in terms of funding for institutional infrastructure, technology and human resource development as merited by an institution of such critical importance. Politically motivated appointments/transfers of staff have adversely affected the performance and damaged the credibility of the institution in the eyes of the public.

Nisar Baloch
A courageous and committed man was killed on 7th November, 2009. Nisar Baloch, resident of Old Golimar, hero of Gutter Bagicha, was gunned down in cold blood by the land mafia. He had spent the last two decades fighting to save what is left of an amenity park in a congested section of this unfortunate city...

Public Interest Litigation
The way forward: Today, great concerned citizens and great judges of Pakistan must pay the price for such responsibility to the public interest. Judges live in built environment of Karachi: Witnesses to the loot and pillage, entirely aware of problems of society, affected observers of environmental degradation...

Illegal Commercialization
In the past few years the residential areas of Karachi have been encroached by commercial offices / shops / unlawful buildings. This has destroyed many residential zones turning whole areas into commercial districts. What are the causes of the illegal encroachments in residential areas?...

Illegal MAKRO Habib
19 Dec, 2009: Makro-Habib is allowed 3 months from the date of this judgment to remove its structures and installations from the playground, restore it to the same condition as existed on the date of the sub-lease and hand over its vacant possession to CDGK. A bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry...